[Shaun]

anyone been watching this? I love it. The acting's brilliant.

Roger & Val Have Just Got In is a BBC sitcom that stars Dawn French and Alfred Molina as married couple Roger and Val Stephenson. The show premiered on BBC Two on 6 August 2010. [1]

Each episode is set in the half hour after Roger and Val arrive home from work. Episodes play out in real time with no laughter track. Often times the deeper issues in the couple's lives are underplayed by being glossed over in conversation. The longing for escape is a trait prevalent in both characters' personalities.

The series, gradually episode by episode week after week permits the viewer an insight into the reality of Roger and Val's life. Underneath the mundane middle aged couple's daily routine, the viewer becomes aware of a real heartache which both characters avoid talking about but which has altered their life fundamentally; the death of their infant son Christopher. Kilcoyne insists the viewer tease away the facade of Val and Roger's utopia to reveal real turmoil and how humanity may deal with it. Roger and Val have Just Got In is a genius piece of screen-writing where everyday human emotions are utilized as a mask for real personal tragedy. The screenwriters adopted subtle hints in regard to Roger and Val's heartache, the light-shade in the spare bedroom and the photo of Val holding the baby (granted maybe not so subtle) but fantastically intense nevertheless. Shot in real time the viewer can begin to feel the unspoken pain each character endures but for the sake of the other would rather remain silent. The viewer requires no anagnorisis to understand that both Roger and Val's life has been devastated.